on our broadcast tonight, not so fast. breaking news this evening from a region where everything has come to a stop after an outpouring of suffering and rage, new york city cancels the marathon. boiling point in one of the areas hardest hit by this storm. and the long lines for gas, some relief is on the way. four days to go in the race for president. and tonight there is news on the jobs front. and a big priority for voters. and making a difference, step by step, 21 stories in the dark, one woman's mission to help those in need. nightly news begins now. good evening, an entire region remains crippled and hurting tonight, life is far from normal for millions of people, including those in the

most densely populated areas in the country, heading into the fifth night with no power, the death toll went over 100. while today in the air, we could see the first signs that the calvary is coming, vehicles, pallets, arriving in new york city, all day today, on top of the anger for those who have not received help yet, there was disbelief that the city of new york was going through with the marathon on sunday, a race to go through all five boroughs, in some places still flooded, and places where people died. then late today, the word was out, the race is cancelled, somebody came to their senses and cancelled the race. stephanie gosk has more. from central park, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian, well, the anger was really triggered in earnest by the generators here, they're large enough to power four

hundred homes, and as the anger grew the mayor finally responded, cancelling it late today. today, his office said we can't allow a controversy over an athletic event, even one as meaningful as this to distract the attention for all the important work being done to recover from the storm and get our city back on track. not far from where it would have started, at least 20 people died, houses were levelled and almost no one has power. >> thank god, my reaction is, they're coming to their senses and realizing that these resources are going to be needed where it is truly needed. >> reporter: the hilton garden inn stopped honoring the marathoners' reservations, meaning the new yorkers were already there, and the owner would not kick them out. >> if i need to make a decision, do i throw my neighbor out into the street or provide a room for an out-of-towner so they can

sleep and be able to run in the race, i think the decision is pretty easy to make and i have made it. >> reporter: the 26.2 mile race would have made its way through each borough in the city, a virtual tour through sandy's destruction. >> i feel for all the people who have problems, but you don't pull the plug at the last minute, he could have made that decision days and days ago. >> reporter: transportation was already tough, the race would have closed roads and bridges, and some complained it would have diverted valuable resources like much-needed police officers. last year, a thousand people worked the race, and sanitation workers. the mayor disagreed, saying the city critically needed the $340 million that the marathon brings in. >> new york has to show that we are here and that we're going to recover, and that we can, while we help people, still help companies that need the business and give people something to cheer about. >> reporter: race organizers started a hurricane relief fund.

>> we'll be donating a million to kick this off. and we feel so strongly that this is the right thing to do. >> reporter: they said the marathon was not just a race, but about helping the city find recovery. there has been a lot of twitter traffic, today, brian, as you probably imagine. now, what people are saying on twitter is that all of this stuff, the food trucks, the generators, the water, should all go to neighborhoods that need the help. >> i think everybody watching is saying hear, hear, at the same time. stephanie gosk in new york, central park. thank you, as we showed you here last night, staten island where the marathon would have stepped off was suffering, seemed all but forgotten, even as other areas were getting a lot of attention. in fact, the people can see where life is normal offshore,

at least that area is starting to turn around. andrea, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian, and what a difference a day makes, just 24 hours ago people here were crying for help on live tv, feeling all but ignored by local and federal governments. this morning, all of that changed. >> once you get the water and things, get it to this table. >> reporter: today, a welcome flood of relief as national guard, fema, red cross and other agencies set up camp, bringing much-needed supplies to this hard-hit working class community. >> thank you, fema. >> reporter: 24 hours after this desperate plea on live television. >> but you need to come here and help us, we need assistance. please. >> reporter: there is now hope. >> there is a renewed hope and spirit, and that is what they needed. >> reporter: families crowded around the tables to pick up canned food and ready to eat meals, with more than 100 lining up for dry ice, others bringing clothing for their neighbors. temperatures are dropping

tonight and parents here are worried about their children. the homeland security chief and fema officials today oversaw the relief effort. >> folks are going to be going door-to-door in these communities and making sure that nobody is left out. >> reporter: as one person put it, it is not charity, it is humanity. >> i'm from brooklyn, here since saturday, today is my day off, i'm here trying to help a little more because it is like a bomb hit. >> reporter: ester doesn't even know where to start. >> we need help here, we truly do, we need somebody to come and tell us which way to go, how to go, everybody is becoming so frantic. >> reporter: she feels lost in her own neighborhood, there is the boat lodged in her house, the water damage and the heavy web of wires hanging over her yard. about 500 residents are living at the local shelters, officials say housing is the biggest need. >> they're so scared, they want to know if they have a place to

go in the next 30 days, we don't have the answers. >> reporter: while they wait for answers today, a small return to being normal. for the first time since the storm, the staten island ferry reopened, carrying the passengers over the quiet waters. and the cleanup has started in this area, but to give you an idea, see the boats here on the door step, well, they're strewn up and down the area, today a crane came in, moving them back to the marina. brian, the cleanup in the area will take months. andrea, thank you, across from you the jersey shore remains crippled, of course, and one of the major unsolved problems across this whole region, people can't get gasoline. gas stations don't have power or supply and they can't pump gas without either. that is causing gridlock and

anger in a lot of places. tom costello is at a truck stop on the jersey turnpike in ridge field, which means tom, they have long, long lines. they do have gas. >> reporter: yeah, they're very popular, they have already gone through 20,000 gallons at this station alone, and this line running up around the station, around the jersey turnpike, about a two-hour line. but across the state region frustration is running really high right now. >> this line goes six miles, look at this. >> reporter: if patience was in short supply yesterday, today it seemed all but exhausted. >> where else will i get gas? everywhere is closed. >> reporter: as the desperate search for gas streamed block after block, from long island to the jersey turnpike, with police standing in lines to keep tempers in check, thousands brought gas cans to keep their homes warm. in queens, the tempers did flare. people waited all night in line. >> i would like to you ask that

cabbie why he jumped the line. >> reporter: they attracted drivers from across the region. >> i'm actually waiting to get gas to bring it to people in coney island, because they're devastated. and destroyed. >> reporter: look how close that is to the refinery, that is the gas everybody wants. some refineries are still out of commission but there are still signs of progress, fuel tankers came to bring millions of barrels of fuel. after state and federal authorities cut red tape to get them into port. >> it will be better in the near future, so no panic or anxiety. >> reporter: oil and gas analysts say. >> over the next couple of days, supplies will be tight. but by monday and tuesday we'll see a great improvement in service stations reopening. >> reporter: back on the jersey turnpike, a sonoco fuel truck

of fuel was a welcome sight. >> i came from philadelphia. >> if you get angry, it makes the situation worse. you just have to ride along with it. >> reporter: yeah, it is just gas, but let's talk about the price here, 3.57 a gallon here, we've heard some reports of some gouging, but really that has been limited. and here in new jersey, the state has capped the price that they can charge, and nationally, the gas is below 3.50 a gallon. tom, thank you. and let's talk about the presidential election, shall we? critical issue remaining, the u.s. economy, the final jobs report before election day came out today. employers added 171,000 jobs to their payrolls in october, better than the experts expected. unemployment rate ticked up to 7.9% as people actively looked for work, not surprisingly with four days to go, both sides are actively spinning the numbers in

their own direction, peter alexander from westchester, ohio, good evening. >> reporter: brian, good evening to you with a quick hat to kid rock strumming the guitar on the stage, both sides say the job numbers back up their case, both the president and mitt romney spending much of their day here in the state of ohio, how important is the buckeye state? so important that between the two of them they will be here five more times over the next three days. charging into the campaign's final weekend, each candidate tried to frame the latest unemployment reports to his advantage, as either a sign of economic progress. >> this morning, we learned that companies hired more people in october than at any time in the last eight months. >> reporter: or stalled growth. >> today we learned it is actually 7.9%, and that is 9 million jobs short of what he promised. >> reporter: analysts say both men make valid points. >> there is no question we came

out of the lull, where the economy stalled, we've pushed away from it, the bad news it is pretty low. >> in wisconsin, delivering a speech as closing argument, mr. romney indicted his opponent's record >> candidate obama promised change but couldn't deliver it. i promise change, but i have a record of achieving it. >> reporter: and in four days, promised a fresh start. >> i'll lead america to a better place, where confidence in the future is certain, not questioned. this is not a time for america to settle. >> reporter: still, both candidates' electoral fortunes may rest on ohio. >> ohio, i'm betting on you, i'm betting on you. >> reporter: today, accusing mr. romney of running false ads on the auto industry, that implied jeep is moving jobs to china, ads even the automakers dismiss as untrue.

>> you don't scare that up, to get votes, do you want a president to tell you what he thinks? or somebody who is going to? still, both emphasize the bipartisan theme. >> i will work with anybody of any party to move this country forward. >> i won't just represent one party, i'll represent one nation. >> reporter: brian, tonight, these rallies are all about energizing the supporters, and driving up support for tuesday. >> peter alexander, thank you, let's go to d.c., moderator, "meet the press," david gregory, david, the question becomes we're aware not everybody lives in the northeast and is affected by the storm, life goes on. what will be the prediction, how will sandy impact romney and obama? >> reporter: look, what we have been talking about, the race became frozen, all the energy and news accounts, all the

attention is focused on the real suffering in the storm zone, the president is doing his job, not campaigner-in-chief, but president, in the disaster zone, on the ground, i think the images with him and governor chris christie, his praise of the president when he has been so critical, any incumbent benefits, both sides know it. is that what carries a person into election day? there is a real feeling that it benefits the president. >> all right, david gregory, we'll see you after "meet the press" and of course after the election coverage, gets under way 7 eastern on tuesday night. still ahead on a friday night in the wake of this storm, would you believe predictions of another possible weather event that could bring insult to injury here in the northeast? and later in the middle of the storm, one of the many stories of inspiration, a woman making a difference for her neighbors in need.

a lot of people perhaps are just hearing of yet another storm, that is perhaps gearing up to make a run up the east coast. weather channel meteorologist jim cantore is here with us from ridgefield, new jersey, covering the storm. jim, how much do people have to worry next week?

>> reporter: well, you can't let your guard down, it could come close enough to have impacts, it may not be huge but could slow the efforts here, these are the same computer models that we used for sandy, the one on the right is the american model, the one on the left, the european model. the one that nailed sandy's forecast as five days out, which is where we are with this storm. both of them developed the low pressure off the east coast and moved northeast, the american model is much farther east, less impact, but the european map shows coastal flooding at high tide, not to mention a chance of heavy rain. right now, brian, along with the cold front we dealt with, the temperatures are the coldest since sandy, dropping into the 30s, possibly the 20s since last night. and as you know, we still have a and as you know, we still have 3 million people without power,

chilly nights. >> jim, we just voted we'll take the model on the right that sends us out to sea, thank you very much, jim cantore, by the way, there will be an extra hour of darkness to deal with starting sunday, it is that time. daylight savings time starts. late saturday night into sunday morning 2:00 to be precise when the clocks are supposed to be back an hour. up next here this evening, one neighbor who realized she was badly needed and could, indeed, make a difference in a time of great need.

take a look at some of the homes and lives in tatters, up and down the east coast it will be a long and cold and dark week of cleaning up for so many people. our "making a difference" segment tonight is about the random acts of kindness that have been breaking out since the storm arrived. one woman here has been hauling

buckets of water up long flights of stairs, in the pitch black, for her elderly neighbors riding out the disaster right where they are. today, we spent time with 65-year-old jane rapp, who is making a difference. this water is our survival, until we get water running again, we flush the toilets, we cook, clean and bathe with this water. i'm going to take this to my cousin who lives up the street. >> she has been so incredible to those of us who have received her service. without asking. >> be careful out there. it was not possible for them to open up the hydrant in our building, my building, because they're seniors, and they can't walk three blocks carrying buckets of water. this is ruth, i take care of her. >> okay, you have the potato, the fish. >> she does everything for me. everything. without her, i honestly could not exist. >> but i have to hug the wall when i walk up.

>> we survived three blackouts, 9/11, two hurricanes. >> i brought you some water and stuff they were giving away. they're calling me the angel of water, but i don't know why. because these are things i always do when there is a crisis. >> i'll see you tomorrow. >> without asking, she just comes and brings -- she has no limits. >> our thanks to the angel of water, jane rapp, doing what she can to help her neighbors in her own words tonight with people drinking out of the hydrants, back later this evening on what the city has been doing. and a special event later this evening.

so while this is going to conclude our broadcast on a friday night at the end of a difficult week for so many people. before we go, a final reminder, there is a special dateline from nbc news about the storm and aftermath, at 10-9 central, but more urgently, we're throwing a telethon, live and three floors above here at 30 rock, new york the networks of nbc universal, with a lot of our friends, and a lot of our friends are already here rehearsing, like bruce springsteen, jon stewart, sting,

i could go on, you should watch at 8-7 central, i'm brian williams, we hope to have you back here on monday night, try to have a good weekend, and as we say good night, the son of new jersey will play out as only the son of new jersey can. good night. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >> the boarded up windows ♪ ♪ ♪ the empty streets, and my brother is down on his knees. my city is ruined ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ my city is ruined come on rise my city is ruined come on rise up ♪ ♪ ♪ come on rise up, come on rise up ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ come on rise up, come on rise up, come on rise up, come on

rise up ♪ ♪ ♪ >> one of the major freeways in the bay area, backed up for hours and it's is still backed up. and good eveni